Adopted
by Yazeki
Summary: AU. Judai becomes an orphan at age five. Adopted by Pegasus at age six and with Yubel's guidance, Judai has to face the fact of being the heir of Industrial Illusions and that there's more to the world of dueling than just fun. Adoptado by alucard70
1. Prologue

**Note:** 'Adopted' is a fanfic currently being translated from Spanish to English. **Adoptado** is the original name of 'Adopted' and the author is **alucard70**. I hope you all enjoy his story as much as I have!

**Translated By: **Yazeki

**Edited By: **IdolShipping

**Disclaimer:** The franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! (Including the characters, terms and cards) is owned by Kasuki Takahashi and publishers Shueisha and Konami. This story is made non-profit and only as a hobby.

**Prologue**

Officer Kyo Marufuji of the police department in Domino City was reviewing a report. That morning, the worst traffic accident he had ever heard of had just taken place. The small family car of the Yuki family had been destroyed, and the other car wasn't in any better condition.

After reading the report, he could only confirm his first thoughts when he had gone to the scene on the outskirts of the city three hours ago. The car that hit the Yuki family's car belonged to a young teen of the city, another one of those snobby children from a wealthy family. From what he knew, that Saturday night he was out partying with some friends at his parent's beach house. In the morning, after a night of alcohol and little rest, they couldn't think of anything better to do than returning to the city in the inadequate state in which they were.

The Yuki family only wanted to spend a calm day together when they had come across the car full of teenagers, whose driver had been overcome by sleep. According to experts, Mr. Yuki had no time to react as the other vehicle had stricken their car.

The two adults of the Yuki family were killed; Mr. Yuki on impact and Ms. Yuki soon after entering the hospital. Small, five year old Judai, the son of the young couple, was struggling between life and death on a hospital bed.

According to the doctors, if Judai recovered, it would be a miracle. He would face a long period of physical as well as psychological recovery. He would also have to face the fact that he was alone in the world, since they had not been able to locate any relatives.

Police officer Marufuji sighed. It was very hard when a little boy was left alone. He would have to go to an orphanage and because of his age, it would be difficult for someone to adopt him since couples usually seek babies and children less than three years old. He knew all too well that it was very rare for a child of five or more years to be adopted.

He left the papers on his desk, hoping that everything went well for young Judai. He remembered his son, Sho. He was the same age as Judai. He felt a slight shudder at the thought of his son going through something Judai was. If something like this were to happen to him and his wife, he did not want to think about what would happen to their children, even though he knew that Ryo would take care of Sho. All the while, Judai had no one.

.-.-.-.

In intensive therapy at the general hospital in Domino City, a small, five year old boy named Yuki Judai breathed through an apparatus. He had two-toned brown hair and his cheeks were full of cuts. Most of his body was covered in bandages and casts. He had just emerged from a five-hour surgery in which doctors were able to treat his internal, and most of his external wounds, but the danger was still high. A Duel Monsters card laid on a small table to the right of his bed. Although unconscious, the child was able to hear the voice of the only friend he had…Yubel.

"Judai, I'm here. You're going to be okay; I won't let anything happen to you."

If the nurse responsible for monitoring the status of the child had been paying the least bit of attention to Judai's face, she would have noticed the smile that was forming. He trusted that Yubel would never leave him.

.-.-.-.

Against all medical odds, six months after the accident, Judai Yuki was able to walk again…even though he was being assisted by crutches. But recent medical tests indicated he would soon be well. Still, Judai was a reserved child who hardly spoke with the other children in the pediatric area of the hospital. He spent all his time looking outside through the window of his room with a lost gaze. The child psychologist had said that it was natural for a child to go through such dramatic changes in personality after an event as traumatic as the one Judai had lived through had taken place.

The child held the only card that had remained from his deck. The rest of his deck had been lost in the accident. The psychologist said it was also natural to cling to one of the few things that remained of what had been his life.

The next day, Judai would have to leave for Domino City's orphanage.

Judai had just turned six years old a week ago. It was his first birthday alone. That day, the nurse on duty and the physician who had treated him brought a small cake and a pack of cards for Judai. The child had simply thanked them and then had fallen into his usual silence, to the dismay of doctors.

.-.-.-.

Pegasus J. Crawford watched the championship finals of a Duel Monster tournament for children. Although this year had very good duelists, he could not help being disappointed. In the playoffs in Domino City a year ago, he had seen an awfully skilled boy. He was five years old and was able to carry out complex strategies using his cards, and using rare cards such as the Elemental Heroes, against many duelists who were weak. However, even though he had earned his pass to the finals where duelists of five to eight years would face others from around the world, he never showed up.

Pegasus was worried. Young Judai was an energetic child and a huge fan of duels. There seemed no logical reason for the boy to be absent from an important event as this.

Pegasus sighed and began to concentrate on the final, where a child of six years named Johan Andersen of Norway had just defeated the U.S. representative, a boy of seven years named Jack Mulder. Following the award ceremony where the president of Industrial Illusions delivered a package of rare cards to the child and an envelope with fifty thousand dollars to the guardians of Johan, Pegasus left the Kaiba Dome, still wondering what happened to the young prodigy.

Usually he would not have given more importance to the fact, but in those moments, he had a strong feeling that there was more to the whole thing. With that in mind, once he reached the hotel, he ordered Crocketts to investigate what happened to the young Yuki.

The next morning, during breakfast, Crocketts appeared with a folder.

"Mr. Pegasus," said the most trusted employee of the president of Industrial Illusions. "I found out what happened to young Judai…" He hesitated a little before continuing, making Pegasus worry even more. Unable to talk, he handed the papers to his boss.

Pegasus's face darkened when he saw the newspaper clippings which spoke of the accident and how a child with a great future in dueling had been forsaken. Pegasus had seen the great potential that the young child had. He had no doubt that one day he could be part of the newly formed Pro League, but to do so, he would have to work a lot, and it was almost impossible for an orphan to even have a chance at entering the newly founded Duel Academy, or even move up the league without financial support.

"A great duelist with a career cut short before he could even continue dreaming about it," the president of Industrial Illusions thought out loud. "Not if I can help it."

Within a few minutes, the limousine owned by Pegasus J. Crawford went to the orphanage of Domino City.

.-.-.-.

Judai Yuki contemplated with dull eyes as Pegasus signed the adoption papers.

Kira Kinomoto, director of the orphanage in Domino City, had never in her twenty years of taking charge of that institution seen a child be adopted about twelve hours after the boy arrived at the orphanage. She was happy that little Judai could have a proper psychological treatment, one that they, with their limited budget and being dependent on government support for food and clothing and some external donations, were not able to give the boy. At first she had thought that Judai's situation would be an impediment for the adoption to be carried out, but Mr. Crawford seemed to be convinced that the boy would get over it and could have a good father-child relationship in the future.

Judai got into the limo, Yubel as always, was strongly clutched in his hand.

"Judai-boy," Pegasus spoke, as they headed to the hotel. "Even though your parents died a while ago, my lawyers have managed to recover the apartment building your parents owned."

"Will I be able to keep it?" the child asked in a timid manner.

"Of course, Judai-boy," he responded while smiling.

He knew Judai wanted to keep it, so he would have to be in charge of hiring a manager to look after the property. He was sure that the tenants of his parents would be grateful as to what happened had been questioning if he could continue living there or not.

The rest of the way was spent in silence.

The next morning, after passing through the cemetery to lay flowers at the grave of his parents, Judai, accompanied by Pegasus and Crocketts, went to the building where he had lived for five and a half years with his parents, happily. He took some of his things he wanted to keep and some family photo albums. In a few days, some employees of Industrial Illusions would go there to move the furniture and other objects at a winery so the department could be used by the administrator who was hired.

Before leaving his old home, Judai could not hold in the pain that he had kept for days. He broke into tears in the arms of his new father, who was merely trying to comfort the boy, not knowing what else to do or say. The tragedy had suddenly, without any sign of mercy, took his parents away, and it had wiped out everything he knew, his old life had completely ended.

But Pegasus J. Crawford knew that the little one would get over it. He was no longer alone. He had him, a "father", who even though did not share blood ties with, was beginning to appreciate. After all, Judai was now his heir, and even more importantly, his son.


	2. Chapter 1

**Note:** 'Adopted' is a fanfic currently being translated from Spanish to English. **Adoptado** is the original name of 'Adopted' and the author is **alucard70**.

**Translated By: **Yazeki

**Edited By: **IdolShipping

**Disclaimer:** The franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! (Including the characters, terms and cards) is owned by Kasuki Takahashi and the publishers Shueisha and Konami. This story is non-profit and made only as a hobby.

**Chapter 1**

Pegasus J. Crawford's private island was one of the most emblematic places in the world for duelists. Not only was it the place where Yugi Muto got his first major win in a tournament, it was also the place where Pegasus had spent months isolated from the world on that island, designing the rules of Duel Monsters just like he created the first Duel Monsters cards, which was just about three hundred of them. But that was all common knowledge to the average duelist. The island commonly called Duelist Kingdom was a kind of mecca for the duelists in the world.

Judai had the first sight of the island when his father's helicopter was preparing to land. It was a large island with a beach, harbor, and some pasture which included pasturing animals, vegetable gardens, and even some woods. On a small steep hill near a cliff, there stood the castle of Crawford family.

The helicopter landed in a small heliport, a few meters from the stairs leading into the castle. The people living on the island that took charge of caring for the island were already there.

"Mr. Crawford, I hope you had a nice trip," spoke an elderly woman.

"I'm somewhat exhausted from flying from Japan, but that's nothing a good night sleep doesn't fix," the aforementioned replied with his usual cheerfulness.

At that moment, Judai descended from the helicopter. He wore black jeans and a black leather jacket. His expression was still somewhat off, but it was not as distant as it was a week ago.

"And you must be little Judai!" said the woman in a motherly tone as she ruffled the boy's hair. Judai lowered his head a little, remembering that his mother did the same when she returned from visiting Osamu's house.

The older woman smiled, a bit melancholic, when she saw the child. Pegasus had informed them of the situation a week ago, when he called to order preparations of the bedroom for the child.

After greeting Pegasus, the employees withdrew to continue their work. Some security men dressed in black suits followed Pegasus, himself, and Mery, the old woman, who was also the housekeeper of the castle. After climbing a never-ending flight of stairs, they reached the front door of the castle. Once inside, they found themselves in a very large room. The floor was paved with white tiles and ahead was a huge marble staircase that leads to the front door. The ceiling was a glass dome and there was a huge chandelier hanging in the center from a huge wooden beam that crosses the room. On the walls, were portraits of Pegasus' family and loved ones.

As they walked to a door on the right, they found themselves in a huge dining room. It was lit by three chandeliers hanging over the enormous table covered with a white tablecloth. The wooden chairs were finely carved and there was a huge stained glass window behind what appeared to be the main chair. To the left of that, there was a door where the staff carried the food on the table.

Pegasus sat in the main chair and told Judai to sit to his right. While waiting for dinner, Mery was busily acquainting Pegasus on the latest developments on the island that had taken place while he had been absent so Judai took time to observe the things around him.

Then dinner was served. It was roast chicken with potatoes, and it was eaten in silence. At the end of it, Pegasus took Judai to what appeared to be his new room in the Duelist Kingdom.

It was a spacious room, painted sky blue. It had two huge windows with dark green curtains that showed a magnificent view of the beach. In a fireplace, a pleasant fire was burning. There was a wardrobe, a desk and a bookcase. The bed had a navy blue canopy that looked very comfortable, and on either side of said bed were small bureaus with lamps on top of them, and to the right, there was a clock radio. In front of the bed, three feet from the fireplace, was a cabinet with a TV and a DVD player, plus a small collection of animated films.

"Good night, Judai-boy," Pegasus dismissed himself before leaving the child alone in his new room.

Judai walked towards the bed, to where his bags were already. He opened the largest bag and pulled out his pajamas. They were pale blue and it had been a Christmas present his parents had made for him. It was the last gift he received from them before the accident. He placed his deck of cards on the nightstand beside the bed. As he struggled to keep his tears from spilling, the boy changed his clothes and prepared to sleep. He went to the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom to brush his teeth.

Returning to the bed, he saw Yubel's figure sitting, waiting for him.

"What do you think of them...?" He tried to ask, but a sob prevented him from continuing.

"I don't know," Yubel replied, understanding what the child was trying to say, "But what I am certain of is that they didn't want you be alone and that they want you to be happy."

Judai nodded, really wanting to believe what Yubel said. He turned off the lights and went to bed. Throughout the night, the smooth crackle of the fire in the fireplace was the only sound in the room, until the ember slowly died away over the course of the night. Yubel's spirit spent most of the time watching Judai, watching his dreams and praying to the gods to alleviate his pain.

.-.-.-.

"I understand," Pegasus finished with a sigh and hung up the phone.

The creator of Duel Monsters stood and gazed at the island through the window of his office. The island was quiet and it was a pleasant night in the early fall but, he knew he would not sleep well that night. Not after what he just conversed about on the phone.

Ever since he found out about the accident that had left Judai an orphan, he had tried to find out more about the event. He had just received a call from the police chief of Domino City; the experts had discovered that someone had cut the brakes of the Yuki family's car. Although the father had noticed that the other car was going to impact them, there was no way to stop the car.

Fortunately, they managed to arrest the guilty party. But this created a major problem, the youth, a seventeen year old, who lived in the building next door, could not be prosecuted because his lawyers had alleged dementia. The guy had even had the nerve to go to the orphanage of Domino City. He had been searching for Judai, thinking he was still there. But unbeknown to the young man, Judai had been adopted. He had gone looking for him to finish the job. He had threatened the people in charge until one of the older boys snuck into the director's office to call the police.

When the police interrogated him, his response had been that of a demented fanatic.

"It is my divine mission!" he yelled. "The mission of light, destroy the darkness!"

Normally, Pegasus would have ignored all of this, but the conversation had led to the mentioning of something called the Society of Light. If Judai's death was the goal of an organization of madmen, then he would protect him.

"There has to be something more going on here…" he told himself as he walked through the door, towards his bedroom.

.-.-.-.

Judai had been in the Duelist Kingdom for over a month now, and at the beginning, it was boring. He was the only child in the whole place after all. He would mainly have conversations with Yubel, and sometimes when his father had time, they would duel in the arena of the castle. Even when Judai lost, Pegasus urged him to experiment with different strategies to defeat his Toon Monsters.

On Saturday mornings, he watched cartoons with his father. Pegasus was a huge fan of cartoons. Although Judai did not understand them very well, since they were in English, they seemed to be funny, and sometimes his father took time to explain a couple of things. Judai's favorite cartoon was the one with the coyote and the roadrunner, where the dialogues were not important so he understood what was happening on the screen better.

When he was not busy with these activities, he spent the day fishing in the small stream that crossed the island, or on the beach. But then autumn advanced, and the island's climate was becoming colder. His father would not allow him fish anymore, not until next summer at least.

The mornings were spent studying and learning because his father hired a private teacher who was on the island five days a week. He studied the topics a first grader would learn from Daitokuji-sensei, as he called his teacher. Daitokuji was a man in his twenties, and although he spent most of the time smiling, Yubel did not trust him very much. But he seemed like pleasant person to Judai. Daitokuji always had time to answer his questions and never pushed him beyond his limits. Overall, the classes were very enjoyable. He would also duel with him, but the professor assured him that he didn't know if he was any good at dueling.

The classes always took place in the library. It was a huge room with three floors located in the east wing of the castle. The shelves had thousands of books and novels; there were so many, Judai wondered if someone had even tried to read them all.

.-.-.-.

Daitokuji answered his ringing cell phone, and a somewhat serious voice answered on the other side of the line.

"Do you have confirmation?" asked the voice.

"Yes, there's no doubt that it's him," replied Daitokuji.

"Alright, prepare for the operation immediately. I want the child in my power as quickly as possible."

Daitokuji hung up. They had been looking for the heir of the Gentle Darkness for a long time.

.-.-.-.

At that moment, they were in Judai's room. He was trying to do the homework Daitokuji-sensei had left him for the weekend, but he had noticed Yubel's strange attitude. The spirit had been unusually quiet, and it was causing an uneasy feeling in him. Judai knew that Yubel didn't trust Daitokuji-sensei, but when the child had asked why, she only had shrugged, unable to specify the exact reason for the mistrust.

"Is something wrong?" Judai asked Yubel.

"It's just that I have the feeling that something is going happen," the spirit responded, eyes clouded, not enjoying the feeling. The last time Yubel felt like this, it had been the day before the accident where her beloved had become an orphan.

Yubel blamed herself a bit for that. She had sensed something, but, somehow, had chosen to ignore the fact. Her mission was to protect Judai and she failed. When she realized that there was imminent death approaching, the only thing she could do was use some of her power to protect Judai at the time of the accident. Still, given the short time she had to react, she could do nothing but extend Judai's life long enough for the rescuers to reach the crash site.

It had been three months when she finally had the courage to tell Judai what happened. The child had simply smiled, one of the few smiles she'd seen since that day.

"It's not your fault," he had responded on that occasion, "you did what you could."

Yubel went out of her thoughts and Judai continued to watch suspiciously, as if trying to decipher what was happening in the mind of the spirit. Yubel just smiled at him.

"It does not matter," she said, trying to dispel Judai's concerns. "I'll take care of resolving whatever is causing this feeling."

Judai tried to refocus on math problems, trying to solve them but what Yubel had said kept bothering him.

"Yubel," the boy spoke, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

This question took the spirit by surprise. She sent Judai an apologetic look.

"Judai, there is something important," she answered, trying to make Judai understand, "but I cannot tell you. Not now."

"It's one of those things I cannot tell you until you're older, "she said to the child as he was pouting and inflating his cheeks, annoyed. "Adults always do that, I thought you were different."

"I can't tell you," the spirit defended herself. "You're not ready. I can only help and protect you until you're ready to face what lies ahead."

Judai looked at her intently for a moment, pretending to be annoyed with her, perhaps this way she would say something else. After a while, he surrendered and let out a sigh as he tried to concentrate on his task again. But, he gave up again so soon.

"Yubel," he spoke again, "Pegasu... I mean…D-Dad," he stuttered. He had trouble calling Pegasus his dad but he tried to. He owes so much to the man who had helped him...after _that_. "He said something about...the accident."

Yubel looked at him sadly. She knew how hard it was for him to talk about it. As he spoke, large tears began to form in his eyes.

"He said that somebody had caused the accident," a sob escaped from his lips as his small body trembled. Yubel wished she had a physical body to embrace her beloved, but all she could do was try to transmit her support. "One boy of a Society of Light or something like that," he said. "They came after me."

Judai burst into tears. Yubel was shocked at what the child had said. The Society of Light, it could be something else. The Light of Ruin was mobilizing faster than expected. The child ran to his bed, crying, while the spirit could not do anything but be with him, wishing even harder than before to have a physical body.

"Yubel!" he yelled, sobbing again. "It's my fault! They killed them because of me!"

"No!" She answered. "Don't ever think that! It's not your fault, it's the fault of the Light, only of the Light and someday, it will be defeated and all the pain will go away, I promise."

A few hours later, Judai was asleep when someone knocked on the door.

"Judai-boy," was heard in Pegasus' voice, but Judai was so deeply asleep that he had not heard, but Yubel did.

Pegasus attempted a couple more times. Receiving no response, he opened the door.

On the bed, Judai was breathing heavily while he slept in a restless sleep. His father went to the bed very carefully to make Judai comfortable since he had fallen asleep on the blankets and it was beginning to get cold. Yubel observed this at a distance, not knowing what to think. The man seemed to treat her Judai with love. So why had he told him what happened to his parents? Any other adult would stay quiet at something like that until the child was older.

Pegasus turned off the lights of the room and headed towards the door. Before leaving, he gave a last look of affection and comprehension to his son who now slept a little calmer. Before closing the door completely, his eyes fell on Yubel.

"I'll leave you in charge," said the man.

As the door closed and the steps receded down the hall, the surprised duel spirit looked perplexed at where Pegasus had been at the moment. He could see her!

"It was expected. He isn't the creator of Duel Monsters for nothing," she told herself after pondering for a while, and then continued watching Judai dream.


End file.
